Caribbean Institute of Arbitrators Confab Coming

A large contingent of local, regional and international arbitrators will meet in Kingston for the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) - Caribbean branch, centennial conference next month.

The event, to be hosted at the Faculty of Law, University of the West Indies, Mona, between July 6 and 11, has attracted judges, arbitration practitioners and academics from Lebanon, Canada and the United Kingdom.

"These facilitators have been complemented by an impressive list of arbitrators from the USA, the wider Caribbean and Jamaica," says CIArb Caribbean branch chair Dr Christopher Malcolm. He noted that the decision was taken to host a conference because of its ability to assist in human resources capacity-building effort, as well as push to augment the required changes in the region's arbitration regimes.

Former US ambassador and partner of the renowned law firm, Chadbourne & Parke, in New York, Julissa Reynoso, is among the practitioners who will speak at the event. She shares the spotlight with Sir Dennis Byron, president of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) and Sir Edward Zacca, retired chief justice of Jamaica.

After a year of planning, Dr Malcolm and his team have also secured Professor Dr Nayla Comair-Obeid, partner at Obeid Law, and head of dispute resolution at that practice. Comair-Obeid, specialises in international business law and Islamic and Middle Eastern legislations.

They will be joined by litigation expert Rocio Digon, counsel member at the International Court of Arbitration, and Professor Sundra Rajoo, executive director of the Kuala Lumpur Arbitration Centre.

The first of its kind to be held in Jamaica, registrations have been coming in from delegates based in The Bahamas, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Anguilla, St Lucia and Dominica.

INCREASING PUSH

"In recent years, there has been an increasing push by several jurisdictions within the Caribbean region to establish arbitration as a viable alternative mechanism for the settlement of disputes," stated Dr Malcolm.

He said further that while there is an expectation that arbitration could become more popular for the settlement of domestic disputes and so relieve the courts of mounting pressure, the clear, even if not stated, intention of these jurisdictions was to see the development of arbitration centres that will be able to attract arbitration of international disputes to the region.

The conference is being sponsored by the Organization of American States, Jamaica Chamber of Commerce, University of the West Indies, Jamaica Tourist Board and the International Court of Arbitration, among others.